Winter is calling...
If you've played the likes of RPGs such as Baldur's Gate and Planescape: Torment, you'll be right at home here. Like these other classics, this is an old-school isometric adventure set in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons world and makes use of the pen-and-paper ruleset to form its basis. As the title suggests, this one is set in the brutal winter of the far north and finds a small party of adventurers arriving at a fishing village. When the party sets out to help a nearby village, everyone bar our heroes is killed when ice trolls ambush them and cause a terrible avalanche to unleash its deadly power. Soldiering on, it falls to you to save the villagers and prove your worth. The basic gameplay here is very similar to the aforementioned Baldur's Gate, being a party-based adventure where you control a group of six customizable heroes and must follow the plot, while exploring and slaying monsters. Unlike its brethren, this one is fairly linear, with little in the way of open-endedness, while it also focuses more on combat and less on the rich conversations and quests of its kin. However, it is no less enjoyable for these differences, and indeed, they are what make the game worth playing alongside the other titles. The world created here is an enthralling to explore as you'd expect and it's easy to get lost in its wonders, thanks to the rich and detailed visuals which still look good today. The combat is both exciting and strategic, while the range of options and customization is satisfyingly deep, and the story engrossing. When all is considered, this is another classic RPG.
